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Be the Light Campaign: The Janice Basket

.Our board of directors began researching GravityLights as an option for The Mighty River Project families several months ago. We were so excited to learn about the simple, ingenious, sustainable concept that would allow our ladies and their children light even after dusk. We began collectively envisioning sponsored kids practicing handwriting and poring over school books by LED instead of candlelight. We imagined how much easier it would be for our artisans to tend to a sick child using a gravity light instead of having to fumble with a paraffin lantern or candle. We came up with a tshirt design to use as a fundraiser as well as a limited edition basket that would help to cover the cost of getting the lights into the hands of the TMRP families.During this time, one of our biggest supporters, Janice Sherrill, was fighting a valiant uphill health battle. Janice was generous -- not just financially, or with her time, but in her very soul, generous to others. She saw the hope and the potential and the beauty in everyone she came across, and that made her a fierce supporter of every aspect of our program.One glance at her in the presence of her children or grandchildren made it abundantly obvious that her heart beat in the rhythm of motherhood. She understood the power of a mama.Janice was also a fierce lover of Uganda, where her two youngest grandchildren were born. She saw the beauty of Uganda.As a lifelong educator, Janice was so excited when we added school sponsorship to our program. She sponsored Esther's schooling, because she recognized the potential that accompanies education.Janice was, at her core, a woman of deep and abiding faith. She knew where her hope was found, and wanted others to know, too.And goodness gracious, did Janice Sherrill ever love a basket. Her walls were filled with them, and possibly everyone she ever had an occasion to give a gift to received a Mighty River Project basket. Any of our sales event that Janice attended was sure to be a success, probably to the chagrin of her husband, Gene.When we learned of Janice's passing, we immediately knew that our Be the Light baskets should be named in honor of her. It is our sincere hope that these lights, and our continued work in Uganda, honor everything that Janice held dear.The Be the Light directed donations and tshirt presales helped us to purchase 28 GravityLights -- enough for each family in our program to have one to keep and one to share. The Janice baskets will provide the funds necessary to help us to physically get the lights to Uganda and into the hands of those who will benefit from them.

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